PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) — Trinidad’s Education Minister, Anthony Garcia, is scheduled to meet with stakeholders in the sector following reports of a low turnout of students during the week of Carnival

In a recent statement, Garcia said he will be having meetings in the coming weeks “to discuss how best we could alleviate the spectacle of large numbers of students being away from school on the days following our Carnival celebrations.”

It was reported that while there was a high turnout of teachers on Ash Wednesday, the vast majority of primary and secondary school students were not present.

Garcia revealed that 81 per cent of secondary school students and 74 per cent of primary school students stayed away from classes on Ash Wednesday, while the majority of teachers in both primary and secondary schools attended school on that day with 81.3 per cent in primary schools and 77.7 percent in secondary schools.

The Education Minister said his Ministry is trying to distance itself from the phenomenon where many persons stay at home following the Carnival celebrations.

“This then reinforces the notion that we do not need to be productive during Carnival week, which is not the message we would like to send to our students. Carnival celebrations end midnight on Carnival Tuesday.  Additionally, we are concerned that students who stay away from school on Ash Wednesday and the preceding days will become adults who will repeat this unacceptable practice.”

“I will be meeting with the National Parents Teachers Association, the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association and several other bodies to determine the way forward. I will also take into consideration the national discourse on the matter,” the Education Minister said.